The present invention relates to passenger aircraft and more particularly to a galley located within the confines of the passenger compartment of the aircraft.
Food and beverages for passengers on conventional, commercial, passenger airplanes are normally dispensed from storage and service centers, conventionally called galleys, on the main passenger deck of the aircraft. The galleys require a significant amount of premium floor space on the passenger deck that could otherwise be used for passenger seating to increase operating revenues. One prior art suggestion for increasing seating capacity on the passenger deck of a two deck aircraft, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,899 to R. L. Vernon, is to dispose all or a portion of the galley in the lower cargo deck of a two deck aircraft. This arrangement has met with some acceptance, eliminating some of the space requirements for galleys on the passenger deck and thereby allowing an increase in seating capacity. A drawback to this arrangement is the trade-off between increased passenger seating and the consequently increased passenger revenues and decreased cargo carrying capacity and the resultantly diminished cargo revenues.
An alternative to locating the galley on the cargo deck in a two deck passenger aircraft presents itself in a three deck passenger aircraft such as the Model 747 passenger and cargo aircraft manufactured by The Boeing Company of Seattle, Washington. As disclosed in a copending application, Ser. No. 624,961, filed Oct. 22, 1975, a galley can be located in the aft portion of the upper lobe of the three deck aircraft. This arrangement provides significant advantages but requires some structural and configurational reworking of the upper deck of the aircraft.
It is a broad object of the present invention to maximize the passenger seating space and thus the passenger revenues and to maximize the available cargo carrying space and thus the cargo revenues while still locating a galley within the confines of the main passenger compartment. Further objects of the present invention are to locate the galley so as to promote efficiency in food and beverage service by effectively separating the food storage and preparation area from that required for food and beverage dispensing; to increase aircraft versatility by removing the conventional aft galley complex out of the potential main deck baggage, passenger, and cargo areas; to improve the environment in the passenger cabin by reducing galley noise and food odor normally present in the passenger cabin and to promote efficiency for cabin personnel who prepare and serve food and beverages; to provide additional food and beverage storage area without locating a galley in the upper lobe of a three deck aircraft or on the cargo deck; to provide accessible waste disposal areas under the floor of the relocated galley and to provide installation locations for and access to auxiliary equipment, such as refrigeration equipment, that supports the food storage and service functions; and to provide a galley that can be used in conjunction with a galley located in the upper lobe of a three deck aircraft or located in the cargo area of a two or three deck aircraft.